Terry wrote:
On Sun, 2 Mar 2008 11:35:57 -0800 (PST), snowburnt
wrote:

I was replacing some receptacles in my kitchen (20 Amp circuit). I
pulled out the existing receptacles and found that they had 7 wires
going into them, 3 white 3 black and 1 ground. the receptacle had 2
screw terminals per side, and the extra 2 wires were in the back,
pushed in.

I was going to try to duplicate this but the new receptacles only
accept 14 gauge in the back and the old ones accept 12 or 14...the
wires seem to be 12. so I can't duplicate with these decor plugs.

should I try to find receptacles with the 12 cu wires or could I put
two wires per screw, or connect two of them with a connector?

thanks

That doesn't help you any, but any kitchen that has more than 2 cables
per receptacle sounds wrong.

IMO, each kitchen outlet should be on a separate circuit by itself.



Most recent houses, that would tie up half the breaker positions in the
panel all by itself. IIRC, current 'best practice' is 2 GFCI-protected
20-amp strings for the convenience outlets (alternating the circuits as
you progress down the counter), and dedicated circuits for fridge and
lighting and maybe the dishwasher/disposal and other high-draw items.
(Not counting the 240 circuit for the stove, of course.) That adds up to
5 strings or so, unless it is a show-off kitchen.

As for OP- the other posters have it right- pigtail the outlets, but try
to reverse-engineer what is connected to what, to make sure the string
is not overloaded. 3 hots and 3 neutrals in a box sounds like cheap
electrician used it as a junction box, not a great practice. If there is
attic above, or open basement ceiling below, restructuring how the
wiring is laid out and adding some remote (but accessible) J-boxes may
be a good idea. If all this sounds confusing to OP, he should seek out
an electrician experienced in rationalizing old-work situations. (Most
prefer to rip'n'replace if the old wiring is questionable, but there is
no reason not to reuse old runs if they are in good shape, code
compliant, and go between the point a and point b that you need.)

aem sends....